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Ben Jones

The Blogfather

Hi folks! My name is Ben, and from 2004-2008 I was Director of Communications for the MIT Office of Admissions. My job (other than reading applications and selecting four amazing freshman classes with my colleagues) was to establish a communications platform for MIT Admissions that would enable MIT... read more »

Hello old friends. The blogs are turning ten years old today, and Petey asked me to write something to kick off the big anniversary celebration. The invitation is a complete honor. It's great to be back in my old virtual stomping grounds; I've missed you a lot. I like what you've done with the place.

Ten years... wow. I was 30 years old when we launched the blogs, and I just turned 40. It's hard to believe an entire decade has passed.

This narrative isn't likely to be particularly linear. But you guys probably don't care. (Thanks.)

Inspired by my own 50 Things, I offer you 50 Reflections. Here goes...

The years I spent at MIT were among the best -- and, at the same time, the hardest -- years of my life. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. MIT alums often describe their experience the same way.

Even in the most difficult moments, I don't recall ever once saying "IHTFP." But then again, I never had to take 8.02.

I've been putting off writing this entry for a week, because I simply don't really know how to write it. There are so many things I want to say, and yet so many of them don't attach well to words - only to strong feelings and emotions, the way certain songs bring back the intangible moments of one's childhood.

I think I'll just start with the facts and save the long, introspective part for a later entry, once I've had a chance to really process all of this.

In a nutshell: after four incredible years here, I'm going to be leaving MIT in July. I'll also be leaving Boston, which has been my home for more than a decade, and which will always be the city I love more than any other. It's a lot to digest, and it's going to take some time.

It was truly AWESOME to spend lots of time with all of you this past weekend. I hope you guys had as much fun as I did!

A quick update before I depart for a few days of vacation...

First, a big thanks to Chris Merrill '12 for sending me the group photo from our Meet The Bloggers party. If I shrink it down to fit here, you won't be able to identify anyone, so I'll just link to the big version:

I've decided to add to the CPW coverage by creating a CPW tumblr account. For those of you who are unfamiliar with tumblr, it's a great site that basically allows you to upload photos and thoughts to the web in real time, using your cell phone. If just 10% of the prefrosh currently registered for CPW each upload 5 texts and/or photos over the course of the weekend, that'll be 500+ snapshots. Seems like a pretty cool way to live-blog CPW from a variety of perspectives.

If you're interested in being part of the project, please send me an email (benjones at mit dot edu). I'll need to confirm that you're really who you say you are, of course, so if we haven't met before, please write to me from whichever email account you used to register for your MyMIT account so I can... read the post »